BILL JANE, THE CALMING INFLUENCE IN THE FAMOUS FAMILY
Bill Jane OAM, who died in Melbourne this week aged 86, was the younger brother of the famous Bob and the calmer half of the ‘Bob ’n’ Bill Show’ best known in racing circles around Calder Park.
While not as successful and extrovert a racer as Bob, who died six years ago, Bill Jane was a racer in his own right and was instrumental alongside his brother in the development of the Calder Park Thunderdome and the introduction of AUSCAR alongside Bob’s beloved NASCAR.
The pair grew up on the streets of Brunswick in Melbourne’s inner north and forged an impressive and enduring business relationship that would see the Jane family name become one of the most significant in the Australian automotive industry.
As teenagers they started working in the family leather goods factory, learning to sew, but the boys had a fascination with cars.
They learnt to make seat covers and before long it turned into a money-making exercise.
The pair formed the American Car Seat Cover Company and, with Bob’s sales skills hunting down work with the local car yards and with Bill back at base repairing and fitting the seat covers, it wasn’t long before the business grew.
Bill Jane was awarded an OAM for his charity work
The die was cast that the brothers would forge ahead in the motor industry.
They saw that there was money to be made in buying and selling cars and, with the help of the local mayor, they started their first car yard, Bob Jane Autoland.
As it succeeded the Janes bought into Southern Motors, then one of the biggest Holden dealers in the country, and subsequently took ownership of that thriving business.
Along the way the pair started a Jaguar dealership. They were disgusted by the tyres available to fit to Jags and hunted for a decent supply of the new radials to improve the handling of them.
Long-time motorsport patron Laurie O’Neil gave them his tyre manufacturer contacts and the Janes sourced tyres directly from suppliers.
It wasn’t long before they started Bob Jane T-Marts and the rest is history.
As a racer, Bill had bought an Appendix J, 48-215 Holden in the late 1950s from Harry Firth, which helped to forge a relationship between Bob and Harry which led to that pair winning Armstrong 500s at Philip Island and Bathurst in the early ’60s. He raced the ‘FX’ and others under the Jane Autoland banner.
Decades later Bill was the man behind the development of the Australian stock car category AUSCAR.
Bob Jane had just launched American-style super-speedway racing at the Calder Park Thunderdome and needed a support category to NASCAR. Bill and his son Kim came up with the concept of racing converted production cars and the locally-grown AUSCAR was born.
Bill suffered a serious heart attack in the mid 70’s and was forced to slow down but maintained his interest in car sales via a wholesale business that he remained a big part of until recent years.
He was seen as a great mentor within the broad Jane family.
One of the great legacies is that two sons of the Jane brothers, Rodney and Kim, still work together as key players in the Bob Jane T-Marts organisation.
Bill is survived by ex-wife Joan, son Kim, daughters Tracey, Kathy, Sandy and Mandy. Daughter Susan passed away some years ago.
VALE William (Bill) D. Jane OAM, 21 May 1938 – 6th November 2024
The AUTO ACTION family extends our thoughts and best wishes to Bill’s family and friends.
A funeral service will be held for Bill at 3.00 PM Wednesday, 20th November at the Jane family church, Christ Church Brunswick, 8 Glenlyon Road, Brunswick Victoria.
